Holistic Veterinary Care LLC
Homeopathy, Nutrition and Bodywork for Dogs, Cats and Horses
Why Choose a Holistic Approach?
My first dog, a red merle Australian Shepherd with way too much white, had horrible allergies. I repeatedly shot him up with steroids (which didn’t work) and tested his thyroid several times a year (he was never hypothyroid). I also fed him substandard food and vaccinated him annually. He was fat, bald, red, and itchy all the time. One day a groomer suggested that I change his diet. Nothing else had worked, so I did. His symptoms cleared up overnight! That was my first insight that diet could make a difference. After that dramatic improvement, I started reading and studying and searching for any natural therapies or supplements that would help him live forever.
The more I studied and learned about holistic medicine, the more my paradigm shifted. I became more cautious about vaccinating when I saw animals that died as a result of being vaccinated. I saw people vaccinating their dogs for every possible disease because they wanted their pets to be healthy, and yet those two things are incompatible.
I became aware of the dangers inherent in vaccines and drugs. I knew something was wrong when I started to see pets – like people – being put on medications to counteract the side effects of other medications. Polypharmacy has become the norm, where you take a different drug for each symptom. The drugs interact in ways that can't be anticipated, because there are a lot of drugs, and no way to test them in different combinations.
While working in conventional private practice, I noticed that the animals that I saw year after year for their annual exams were not getting healthier as a result of my care. In fact, their health seemed to deteriorate over time - and this was considered the norm! That was not what I signed up for. I went to vet school to learn how to cure disease, not to hand out refills of steroids and seizure medications. In my search for an effective form of medicine, I discovered homeopathy and that has been my treatment of choice ever since.
My goal is to offer drug-free treatments that work while improving the health of my patients.
The benefits of a natural approach:
• Longer, happier, healthier life for our pets
• Avoid the endless cycle of drugs and treatments that mask symptoms and make our pets sicker
• Treating each patient as an individual leads to better outcomes
• Save money by keeping your pet healthy using simple, natural, easy methods
• The possibility of cure
What kinds of conditions can be treated with holistic medicine?
A very common question that I get is, "My pet has been diagnosed with X, have you ever treated that?"
The fun part about being a veterinarian is that I still see new things every week in my practice. So even if I haven't seen exactly the issue your pet has, it is likely that I have addressed something similar. The most common conditions that I treat are allergies of all kinds, inflammatory bowel disease, endocrine disorders, vaccine damage in all its forms, and cancer.
I see new puppies and kittens with no apparent health problems, and treat elderly animals with serious and sometimes terminal diagnoses, and everything in between. I always treat with the possibility of cure in mind. There have been cases of spontaneous remission from all kinds of horrible conditions, so we know the body is capable of amazing feats of healing. At the same time, we know our pets will not live forever. If they are curable, I am happy to contribute. If they are incurable, I am happy to support living beings right up till the end. Even older animals can enjoy an improved quality of life from a dietary upgrade and homeopathic remedies.
About Dr. Levy
Dr. Jessica Levy grew up in Mill Valley, California, and spent her childhood running wild in the woods and having poison ivy all the time. In the mid 70’s, her family moved to Israel. She lived in Jerusalem, attended middle school and high school, served two years in the Israeli Defense Forces, and studied at Tel Aviv University. Halfway through a physical therapy degree program, Dr. Levy decided to fulfill her childhood dream of being a veterinarian. She dropped out, worked as a farm hand for 6 months to earn enough money for a plane ticket, and returned to the United States. Her oldest sister was living in Maryland, so that’s where she went. She lived in a hippie commune on a farm for a few years while doing her undergraduate work at Montgomery College in Germantown, Maryland. Dr. Levy then moved to Blacksburg, Virginia, to attend the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech. During her senior year, Dr. Levy met her husband, who was visiting from Minnesota. That’s how she ended up here.
Since her vet school graduation in 1997, Dr. Levy has practiced small animal veterinary medicine in the Twin Cities. She cofounded the North Star Humane Society, which operated for 3 years and found homes for 450 cats, dogs, and small mammals. She completed the Professional Course in Veterinary Homeopathy (2002) and is a graduate of the Northwestern Academy of Homeopathy (2007). She completed the Veterinary Spinal Manipulation Course at the Healing Oasis (2012), and has also completed courses in craniosacral therapy, myofascial release, and Reiki II. She is the current President of the Minnesota Homeopathic Association.
Dr. Levy’s pet family includes four dogs (a terrier, a mini golden doodle, a Lagatto Romagnolo, and a Dutch shepherd), five cats, and five horses (two Quarter Horses, a Saddlebred, a Belgian mule, and a miniature horse).
